Chapter 18

The house show came and went with her facing Ivory again, beating her in record time. The woman truly was a pushover in the ring and Tahlia was simply on another level than her. Before Raw came, Tahlia went back to New York City to her crummy apartment and immediately began looking for a new place to live. While home for 2 days, she also went shopping and bought all new clothes since she was no longer with the Ministry. That meant she could wear whatever colors she wanted.

Blue, orange, yellow, red, pink, green…anything she wanted, even purple and black if she desired.

Even though this was just a rouse to get closer to the McMahons and the Corporation, Tahlia had to go full throttle with it. She couldn't give any assumption she was with the Ministry. So she also went to a top of the line hair stylist to color her hair pure black like it once had been, ridding the purple streaks for the time being. Her hair was healthy enough to withstand the process and wouldn't fall out.

By the time Raw rolled around, Tahlia was a new woman and stepped out of her rental vehicle in a mini pink skirt with a long sleeved black and pink striped top, her hair currently up in a beehive bun on top of her head. Her makeup was simple foundation, black liner and clear gloss, the gothic image completely gone and she even had pink hoops in her ears. 2-inch black knee-high boots completed the image. Grabbing her bag, Tahlia headed inside the arena to prepare for her match that night.

"That's disturbing as hell." Bradshaw muttered when he spotted Tahlia entering the building, shaking his head at the pink earrings.

They knew she was 'out' of the Ministry, but that was about it. They had strict orders to treat her as they would any other outsider and it had been stressed with a 'for her own protection'. Their boss also implied if they didn't listen, it would be their asses he took it out of.

"The hell she do to her hair? Damn." Ron shook his head and snorted, turning to walk away, roughly shouldering people out of his way.

"Tahlia, is that you?" Ryan Shamrock asked hesitantly, slowly approaching the completely transformed woman and blinked at the curt nod she received. "Sorry, you just look…"

"Different, yes I know." Ryan had been a friend of hers, of sorts, before joining the Ministry. "I left my current post and now I'm back to being…me." That was a flat lie, but surprisingly Tahlia pulled it off.

"I was under the impression nobody left the Ministry…unless they were cast out?"

"I honestly don't know. Wasn't with them long enough to really tell. I'll talk to you later, Ryan." Tahlia left the woman standing there staring after her with a slacked jaw and inwardly jumped for joy, knowing the transformation was bound to turn a few heads. Hopefully, she would gain Shane's attention and start her task tonight.

"What the hell you doing back in here?" Luna Vachon asked when Tahlia stepped into the women's locker room, taking in Tahlia's new appearance. She had started getting used to the gothic version, so this was a definite shock.

Sable popped her head out from behind the locker door. She had not been pleased with the fact that she had to share tonight due to limited spacing, but... gossip was gossip.

"Does it matter?" Tahlia retorted, rolling her eyes at Luna and began pulling her gear out, which was still the same.

She hadn't changed it, not even when she joined the Ministry. The color for tonight was a deep sky blue, she figured that would gain Shane's attention if nothing else. Tahlia also made sure to put a few more holes in a few places that still left plenty to the imagination, but it also would make the gears in men's head start to turn. Taking her hair down out of the bun, she began to undress and suddenly wondered who she was wrestling tonight.

"Well, yeah."

Luna wasn't put off at all. She was a member of the Vachon family and came from wrestling stock. She knew the business inside and out. Also, the fact that a woman had been recruited by the Undertaker, of all people, was something that had raised a lot of eyebrows and questions.

"Either he changed his mind and dropped you or you fucked up. So, which is it?"

"Luna, none of your business." Sable sighed, slamming the door shut and shook out her mane of hair.

The sound of Sable defending her disgusted her. This was her enemy, the one who held HER women's championship and she wouldn't rest until the title was around her waist again. "Thank you, Sable." Tahlia murmured softly, standing from the bench and pulled her boots on, lacing them up.

Granted, she still had Chyna to go through and, without the aid of the Ministry, it would be one hell of an uphill battle. However, Sable was buddies with the McMahons, so if Tahlia played her cards right she would be able to use that alliance to her advantage. Hell, maybe Vince would even grant her a title shot against the whore.

"Are you on the show tonight?"

"Of course I am." Sable looked at Tahlia like she had lost her mind, gesturing to her championship. "I'm defending tonight." She knew damn well Tahlia had her eyes on the gold, but… Tahlia had been in with the Undertaker. That right there had its advantages, she just needed to work the angle a bit and attempt being friendly. "Know who you're facing yet?"

"No, it's an open challenge type of deal. I go out there and issue it. Vince's idea, I guess." Tahlia shrugged nonchalantly, hearing the smugness in Sable's voice and had to fight the urge not to slap her silly. "Who's your opponent tonight?" She had to fight back an eye roll at the mention of Ivory, who she did defeat via disqualification at the previous week's house show. "Should be a good match. Good luck out there, champ. Hey, do you know if the makeup and hair table is busy?"

"Not a clue. I'm on my way out there now actually, need my ends trimmed." They were splitting and she scowled, ignoring the speculative looks they were receiving from the other women. "Walk with me?"

She didn't like Tahlia and she knew Tahlia wasn't overly fond of her. In fact, Tahlia was probably thinking about issuing a challenge to her for her title and it wouldn't work in her favor. However, they all played the stupid game, including the women.

Playing the game was part of survival in the WWF. Tahlia had learned her first day she had no friends, only enemies. "Sure." Hopping up from the bench, they walked out of the room together to head down to Janet and Tiffany. "Your hair doesn't look bad, by the way. Hell, if anyone needs a trim, it's me."

Her hair was currently down around her shoulders and hanging down her back with little curls throughout from having it in the bun all day. She was also lying through her teeth since she'd had it professionally done when her hair was streaked purple. Sable's hair was atrocious and had so many split-ends; it was a miracle Vince hadn't demanded her to get it fixed prior to going on national television.

"Your hair looks fine, like it has been trimmed." Sable pointed out critically, already knowing her hair was a hot mess. Between shows, signings, photoshoots, and everything else Vince was making her do, she was surprised she had time to squeeze in sleep. "So... everything all right?" She asked curiously, trying not to be too nosy, but it was the Undertaker.

Nosy bitch, Tahlia thought, keeping the smile on her face and nodded. "Yeah. Just trying to get back into the swing of things like they used to be." She tried like hell to keep the sadness out of her tone, but just a little seeped through.

Tahlia missed her men and hanging out with the Acolytes smoking cigars, drinking beer and playing pool. She missed Taker even more, if she was being honest. Those words would never come out of her mouth, however. If she was using Sable to get to Shane, what better way than to make the woman feel sorry for her?

"They kicked me out. Please don't say anything." She murmured quietly, once again lying to perfection.

"Of course not." Sable said reassuringly, though... inside she had definitely crossed her fingers.

She wouldn't say anything, not just yet, wanting to know why and then see how she could apply it to benefit herself. Sable didn't want to be the McMahon whore for the rest of her career. It would be nice to get out from under that, literally.

"Why'd they kick you out? It's not because you're a woman, is it?" That would totally suck, but was also the normal here in the company.

Men were such pigs.

"Probably. Don't really know. They just told me to pack my bags and that was that. I went home for a few days, revamped my look and now I'm here getting ready for a match. Funny how life works." Little did Sable know, she was still with the Ministry completely and Tahlia had to bite back a smirk, keeping the frown in place on her face. "I'm sure Vince will be skeptical about it for a while, but…" She shrugged, waiting to get her makeup done while Sable sat down in the hair stylist chair. "It is what it is. I'm not heartbroken over it. Just gives me more opportunity to focus on what I want to do instead of following orders in a cult."

"Cult? Really?"

She tipped her head back though her eyes remained on Tahlia, unable to keep personal curiosity out of her tone. The Undertaker was a mystery to most people and, the fact that he had taken on a woman minion, had set tongues to wagging. Ministry whore had been tossed around the locker room quite a bit, but honestly, Sable didn't see that. Though, she could've been wrong.

"He's not faking it, at all?" That was a horrifying thought and it showed on her face.

Amber locked on bewildered brown. "No." It was a truthful enough answer, though everybody in the Ministry had the right to leave anytime they wished. It wasn't an actual cult per say, but if she wanted to get the ball rolling with Shane, she had to get close to Sable and gain her trust. "It was…terrifying and I'll leave it at that." Exhilarating, breathtaking, passionate…those words also came to mind, but Tahlia kept them to herself. "I'm just glad to be back on my own without having to be around a bunch of testosterone. Traveling with them wasn't the best."

Sable could only imagine, traveling with all those men. The only two worth giving a second look was Bradshaw and the Undertaker, though the Deadman terrified her. "Can I ask you something, Tahlia?" She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "When they took you guys... what happened then?" That was something she was definitely curious about and she remembered they had taken that big guy this past Sunday at the Royal Rumble.

Telling Sable what happened wouldn't go against any laws or her vow to the Ministry, more importantly, to Taker. "When I woke up, we were in a cell…Dennis and me. Mideon is his name now." She lowered her eyes just to continue playing the part perfectly, chewing her bottom lip slowly and took a deep shaky breath. "We were left there for 7 days and nights before someone came to talk to us. Dennis was chained, as you saw in the videos on Raw. I was too, only I wasn't hanging like he was. Just to the hard cement floor…" Tahlia managed to conjure up a shudder, swallowing hard. "It wasn't…the best conditions to be in, but…I made it through and that's what matters."

"But why?"

Sable was genuinely interested and genuinely appalled now, the curiosity turning both morbid and hesitant. She wanted to know, but she also wanted to remain in the dark and just go on believing that Taker was just playing a role to the extreme. Not actually living that jacked up satanic crap.

"What was the purpose behind it? I guess I just don't understand... to put you through all that and then... kick you out. It's a sick game of his..."

"He is the master of mind games. And he lived up to that nickname wholeheartedly." Tahlia smiled sadly, closing her eyes while black liner was applied to her eyes. "He didn't hurt me, though I can't say the same for Dennis." The Acolytes had beaten the hell out of him, but hadn't touched her other than knocking her out with ether. "We weren't brainwashed or anything, but…they broke us down until we agreed to join." Partial lie. "And you're right. To go through the entire process of kidnapping me and everything, only to toss me out a little over a month later doesn't make sense to me, but it is what it is."

Sable considered all that, mulling it over. Personally, she did not agree one bit with Tahlia's assertion that they hadn't been brainwashed, fully believing Undertaker was capable of doing it. They had been broken down until agreeing to join, that wasn't brainwashing per se, but it was something along those lines. Coercion would have been a better term.

"It is what it is." She echoed, falling silent so her face could be finished.

After her makeup and hair was done, Tahlia was informed she'd be second on the program and would find out who her opponent was while out there. They wanted her to have a 'real' reaction. Tahlia didn't have a problem with that and began doing her pre-match ritual, finding an empty locker room to do it. While stretching, Taker once again entered her mind and that just made Tahlia want to pluck her brain from her skull, needing to focus on the show that night. How was she supposed to get close to Shane? This was going to be one hell of a task to achieve because he was a McMahon, which meant he was as devious as his old man. Or so she assumed. Closing her eyes, Tahlia slipped ear buds in her ears and cranked Metallica on her Walkman before clipping the device to the waistband of her wrestling attire.

The man in question was running the show tonight. Pops had taken the night off to stay at home with Linda, who was not feeling very well. Also, Shane knew damn well this was meant to be a trial run to see how he did. He snorted, adjusting his pristine white cuffs as he walked down the hallway. His father was an obvious dick at times. Shane had offered quite a bit of advice lately, most of it related to Vince's inability to separate himself from his own company storylines and real feuds, like with the Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness. That was something that should have never happened and, instead of ending it, Vince was playing the game.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath.